When enough isn't enough

Look at this gorgeous (and, yes, sadly snowless) place we live. Lakes Basin National Recreation Area in Plumas County, CA -- March 28, 2015. Photo by me.

We have enough and we'll never have enough. This is the unresolvable paradox at the heart of so many issues, and one that is playing itself out daily when it comes to discussions about California water. Since the now infamous "one year of water left" headline ran last month (don't worry, it was quickly refuted) and the governor announced a 25% water reduction for urban users in the middle of a snowless Sierra meadow last week, anxiety has skyrocketed and finger pointing has commenced.

On one hand, it is amazing and wonderful to see so much interest in water. At the same time, much of the conversation has been pretty painful. See, for example, the comments on a recent, highly problematic New York Times article (reminds me of the Stegner obituary: "It was The New York Times that broke his heart"). While I'm grateful for the thoughtful responses, simplified solutions like don't live in California, kill the almonds and lawns and fish, become a vegan, desalinate more, etc., are more common. What many seem to be saying is if only we all did or didn't do this *one* simple thing or -- more likely -- if only other people did or didn't do this *one* simple thing, the suffering would end.

This is where I'm realizing we are faced with an unrelenting series of unresolvable paradoxes, which can be really hard for the problem-solver in all of us to take (not to mention that they make terrible news headlines). The most fundamental paradox of all is this: we both have enough water, and we will never have enough water. Many of the most closely held disagreements over California water issues -- from whether agriculture is allotted too much or not enough water to whether people are suffering deeply or not enough from the drought -- stem from this paradox.

I can just hear the wheels grinding in the minds of those that might argue that these issues are in fact resolvable, which speaks to the nature of the challenge itself. You don't have to reach back very far to see that different flavors of the same issues have existed in the California water world for a long time. All I can do when standing on the shifting ground of "enough will never be enough" is allow for seemingly these opposing ideas to exist at the same time, and wait for some way forward to emerge.

Saying the drought offers an invitation to practice holding opposites is not a way of evading the very real changes that must happen, or deferring institutional work to the individual. For me it is actually a deep acceptance of the way things are and, importantly, a way to stay present in the the face of vast disagreement. It helps me to see that while there are no silver bullets, there are many valid approaches being carried out by many people who have to negotiate tough trade-offs and work at different scales.

Appreciating the deeply paradoxical nature of California water issues is a way of both freeing up the energy to keep on keepin' on and allowing space and time for new paths to emerge. It's not either/or, it's both/and. Now, back to work.

Related posts:

• 5 Key Facts about the California Drought—and 5 Ways We’re Responding to It
• The Art and Science of Waiting (for rain)
• Live tweeting a drought
• From parched to water-logged and back again